The Danger of Canaanite Religious Influence on Israelite Worship

In Canaan Israelite worship incorporated elements from pagan worship, especially that of Baal, and Israel went through periods of apostasy and reform. Syncretism, the mixture of foreign elements with the Yahwism of Israelite worship, increasingly became a problem as the people of God moved from the wilderness to the Promised Land of Canaan. The religious procession to the land can also be seen as a military movement that collided with the cultures already existing in the area. Among other peoples, the Israelites encountered and settled near a Semitic people called the Canaanites. The Canaanite culture is thought to have existed in this area from perhaps as early as 3000 b. c. The Canaanite gods quickly became competitors for the loyalty and worship of the Israelites. The desert incident of the golden calf foreshadowed the problem of idolatry that would intensify during this period of settlement. For the Old Testament writers the word idolatry meant veneration of an object other tha…